Surprises
by Trapped in a MatchBox
Summary: [luby] A happy life is turned upside down by the appearance of an unexpected visitor. Spoilerish through episodes 12.10 All about Christmas eve and 12.11 If Not Now.


A/N: Ok, this is just a random story that popped into my head last night when I couldn't sleep. So, I hope you like it. It'll be a series but I'm not sure when I'm gonna be able to update again, cuz I'm going outta state for the holidays but I'll try to write and post as soon as I can. Hope you guys like it.

Also, English is not my first language, so keep that in mind if you find any mistakes. This is set in the near future, and if you're spoiled up to 12.11 – If Not Now, I think you'll be ok. If not, well, then it might be a good idea to hit the back button now. I think that's pretty much it. Go read. Enjoy.

** Surprises**

I can hear a voice. But it sounds so far, yet really familiar. I wonder if it's talking to me. I hope it isn't because I could really use a few extra minutes of sleep. Oh, damn, this baby has one strong kick, right on my bladder, which is almost begging me to be emptied.

I open my eyes slowly, trying to get used to the bright light coming from the windows. The voice in my dream is still present here, now a bit louder, I realize, as I look down and see Luka with his hand on my belly talking to it in Croatian, completely unaware that I'm watching him. He's so distracted that he jumps about a foot in the air when I run my fingers through his hair, making me laugh.

"Morning." I say with a grin. He smiles and kisses me.

"Morning." He says and goes back to his previous position, resuming the conversation with our baby. I just look at him and roll my eyes, smiling. The same thing, every single day.

"I hate to interrupt this sweet moment you two got going on there, but I really need to get up." I say gently pushing him away. He holds on to me tightly, not letting me move. "Luka."

"I was in the middle of a really important conversation with our baby, you know." He says with the cutest smile. He knows that smile always makes me melt.

"Oh, really?" I ask, amused. He nods. "What were you talking about?"

"I was just telling him how beautiful his mother is and how lucky he is that you're his mom." He says grinning; I can't help but smile back.

"Him? Do you know something I don't?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, more like I just picked a pronoun. It's kinda weird to call our baby 'it', you know."

"Well, we can always find out, you know, You're the one that wanted a surprise." I say, playing with his hair. He looks at me for a minute, thinking.

"I guess if we've already waited this long, another couple of weeks won't kill us. Right?" He says, looking up at me, resting his head gently on my belly.

"Sure, it's fine by me. You're the one that can't handle the suspense." I say, teasing him.

"Of course I can!" he says in mock outrage.

"Can not." I say grinning.

"Can too." He says grinning back. The baby, apparently, gets excited with our little banter and aims a strong kick on my bladder again; reminding me I have to go to the bathroom. Luka smiles, feeling the baby move and kisses my belly.

"Ok, I really need to get up now." I say starting to get up. Luka pushes me down.

"Oh, c'mon, you're not on for another hour." He says.

"I know, but your kid just kicked my bladder with all the strength it has and I really need to pee." I say urgently. He laughs and lets me go. I get up and finally make my way to the bathroom.

Once there, I put my bladder out of its misery, brush my teeth and take a quick shower. When I come back to the bedroom, Luka is still in bed, only, apparently, he made some coffee and is drinking it while he reads the paper. I walk over to the wardrobe and pick something to wear today. Once I'm dressed, I look in the mirror. Damn, look how huge I am.

"God, I feel so fat." I say with a sigh. Luka comes up behind me and hugs me, his chin on my shoulder.

"You've never looked more beautiful than you are now." He says kissing my cheek.

"Yeah, right." I say and feel the baby moving around again, kicking everything its little feet can reach. "God, this kid is so gonna be a soccer player." Luka chuckles at that.

"That's great; I can teach him how to play some really good ball as soon as he starts walking." I smile and lean back against him.

"There you go with this 'him' thing again. Do you have a feeling or you do you just really want a son?" He shrugs.

"I don't know. It doesn't really matter if it's a boy or a girl, as long as it's healthy."

"And you can teach him or her how to play soccer, right?" I ask grinning.

"Exactly." He says with that boyish smile I love so much. I turn around and kiss his lips.

"Alright, I gotta go." I say moving away from him to get my purse.

"You didn't eat anything." He says.

"I'll get something to eat on the way. I'm already late and Weaver's on today. I really don't want her on my back all the day just because I got in late." I explain and he seems to accept it.

"Alright, just no coffee." He says as we're coming down the stairs.

"I know, I know." I say, rolling my eyes. "What time are you on again?"

"At ten." He says, helping me put my sweater on.

"Lucky." I say and lean up to kiss him. "I love you." He pulls me closer and kisses me again.

"I love you too."

"I'll see you later." I say and he closes the door behind me.

* * *

When I get to the station, I try to run to catch the El, but running when you're seven months pregnant is not the easiest task in the world. I get in, slightly out of breath, just as the train starts moving. I soon spot Neela in the crowd and make my way towards her.

"Hey." I say, sitting in front of her.

"Morning." She says. "How's my godbaby doing?" she asks with a smile.

"The baby is just fine, and so is its mom, thanks for asking." I say grinning. She laughs. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm ok." She says but I can sense she's not.

"Neela." I say and she looks up. "What's going on?" she sighs.

"It's nothing, really."

"C'mon, I know you. I can tell something is wrong." I say.

"Michael and I had a stupid fight that's all." She says looking down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask. She shakes her head. "Alright, but if you change your mind…"

"I know, thanks, Abby."

* * *

It's only an hour into my shift that I can finally take a break and go get something to eat. I go over to the Jumbo Mart and decide on a granola bar for now. I make my way back to the hospital and spot Luka just outside. I call out to him and he turns around.

"That's your idea of breakfast?" he asks, teasing me.

"Hello to you too." I say and he pulls me to him, kissing me. I smile at him. "And this was the healthiest food in that place." I say pointing at the Jumbo Mart.

"Well, then maybe we can get some lunch later so you can eat some real food." He says taking my hand and leading me into the hospital.

"Whatever you say, doctor." I say with a laugh.

"How's the baby?" He asks, putting his arm around my waist.

"Active." I say, my hand immediately moving to my belly. He smiles and is about to say something else when we see a bunch of people gathered at the admit desk. "What's going on over there?" I ask, curious.

"I don't know. Let's go check." He says, pulling me by the hand.

"Where's Abby? Is she on today?" we hear someone ask. Someone that sounds really familiar.

"She's on her break." Neela says.

"What about Luka?"

"Oh, he's on at ten, so he should be here any minute now." Kerry says and we finally see who this commotion is all about.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our good old Dr. Carter." I say and everyone turns to look at me. Carter looks at me, then at Luka, seeing our hands clasped together, and then back at me, now staring at my belly. I see the shock on his face and my hand finds its way to my belly as if my baby needs protection. Luka steps forward and shakes Carter's hand.

"What are you doing here?" Luka asks. "I thought you wouldn't come back until September." He says. So did I. Carter, apparently, is still in shock. We've kept in touch, sort of, but I never mentioned anything about Luka or the baby. I guess neither did Luka.

"Oh, I just thought I'd come earlier and spend the summer in Chicago." Carter says, coming back to Earth. I smile at him.

"That's great, Carter. We've missed you around here." I say. Now it's just the three of us standing here as Kerry shooed everyone else to work. He looks at me again.

"Wow, I… uh, I guess a lot has happened since I left." He finally manages to say. Luka and I look at each other and smile.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I say, giving Luka's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Congratulations." He says. "When are you due?"

"July." Luka says with a big smile. He's so excited about this baby.

"When did this happen?" he asks, motioning to me and Luka.

"Well, it just sort of started again in October. Right?" I turn to Luka for confirmation.

"Yeah." He says, his arm around my waist again. Carter watches him do that with a weird expression.

"Doctors, I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do but there are patients that need to be seen. Luka, you're the ER chief, you have to set an example." Kerry says, picking 4 new charts. Two for me and two for Luka.

"You're the chief now?" Carter asks, surprised.

"Hey, Abby we got a GSW coming in. Care to help out?" Clemente says, throwing me a gown.

"Yeah, sure." I say. "Victor, this is Dr John Carter." I thought I should introduce them. " Carter, this is Dr Victor Clemente." They shake hands.

"Nice to meet you." Carter says.

"You too, man. I heard a lot about you." Victor says. "Only good things, don't worry." He says with a grin and we make our way to the ambulance bay. "How's little Junior doing?" he asks me. I smile as the baby kicks as if it knows we're talking about it. I look back to Carter and Luka, still talking at admit. Luka with four charts on his hands now, and Carter looking at me, with an expression on his face I can't quite decipher.

_To be continued…_

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